Wahiba Al-Ayadi: Culture, for me, is a tool for openness to the world and should not be underestimated
Wahiba Al-Ayadi is a model of a woman with rural roots who flourished in France.
Culture, for me, is a tool for openness to the world and should not be underestimated at all.
Women are not equal to men, they are much more than that.
In this dialogue, we opened a window on the path of a young Amazigh immigrant woman who played a major role in the country in which France resided. She is Wahiba Al-Ayadi, 29 years old, and she is of rural origin from the Eth Said tribe and the Dar Al-Kabdani highlands, where her parents belong to these same mountains, which represented... Their birthplace, where they grew up, became involved, and had their first children. 45 years have passed since they immigrated to France in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Wahiba was born in France, and is the youngest of 8 children.
She says that she always felt that she belonged to the environment in which she was born, her father, who worked for 40 years as a construction worker for them, and her devoted and loving mother, who raised them at home. She believes that they were the source of her belonging and conveyed their belonging to her, and this was an incentive for her and her seven brothers and sisters to achieve their personal and professional goals later.
* Professor Wahiba, welcome to the newspaper “The Amazigh World”. You are a member of the rural community residing in France. We want to know where Wahiba Ayadi belongs to?
**I belong to the countryside and am very attached to my culture, traditions and land. I have strong feelings when I think of those ancestors who live there in the mountains facing the Mediterranean. So it was quite natural that at a very young age I asked my father (in addition to our annual vacation in Morocco) to take me back to the land of my ancestors. That land was abandoned by families who left for Europe. I wanted to immerse myself in their story to understand my own. I was looking for a source of motivation, and also understanding, but above all I wanted to give meaning to my future. In front of my ancestors' stone and earthen house, which was partly destroyed, I felt strong emotions. An indescribable feeling grabs you and gives you courage. Migration The region did not lose its impressive landscape but I quickly realized the difficulties they had to face: no drinking water and no electricity at that time. A wild land that can only be tamed by rural people. But I drew strength from it.
I love to learn about the history of my countryside, its inhabitants, its fighters and defenders, the traditions of its ancestors, and its sometimes forgotten legends. I love learning traditional and poetic songs called “Ezran” and I also love speaking rural language with my loved ones. I feel as if I have a deep treasure inside me that I carry to life by perpetuating our traditions and language with the people I meet.
It is clear that teaching is a profession that benefits the transfer of knowledge and education, and I always wanted to transfer knowledge and skills, so the path was clear in front of me. What prompted me to choose to study the English language at the university, where I obtained a degree in foreign languages and civilizations and completed a master’s degree so that I could pass the English language teachers’ exam. I succeeded in doing so in 2016, and at the age of 22, I found myself fulfilling a childhood dream: I finally stood in front of the class.
Since then, I have continued to train and learn, which has allowed me to obtain additional certifications that also allow me to teach French as a second/foreign language.
* How did you use your identity and the personality of a rural woman to prove yourself in the diaspora with regard to the professional and societal aspects and all the charitable work that you do?
*** My career has not been very linear, I have taught from secondary level to master's level II. I have been teaching secondary education for a long time while I have taught part-time in higher education but for two years now I have been teaching higher education level at Jules Verne University of Picardy where I run English classes as well as FLE classes. I am also responsible and involved in the University's Language Resource Centre, a place designed and developed with the aim of achieving students' independence in learning foreign languages. At the same time, as an educational director, I also coordinate the “FLE Public en Exil” course that welcomes political refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who want to learn French as soon as they arrive in France. FLE was an obvious choice at some point in my career and I think it resonates with my personal family history, in fact, teaching French to newcomers has always reminded me of my parents, who were not so lucky.
They came to work to support their families and were unable to complete their studies. Today I explain to my students that a professional future is beginning to appear for them in France, and that it is possible for them to resume their studies or continue their studies despite the circumstances.
My social work is very important to me because I love helping others; Open the field of possibilities and show students that with a little will and determination we can achieve great things. I would like to convey this idea that the most beautiful things are within everyone's reach. Moreover, I have not found a better ally than culture. In order to advance my social work, and in order to transmit French democratic, social and republican values, I participate every year in a cultural project within the framework of a theme aimed at integrating these newcomers to France. I feel lucky to achieve this annual participation, which allows me to share joint presentations with FLE students who come to learn the French language; Every year I face the fear of not being able to master the language; Every year they outdo themselves and succeed in producing shows that impress the audience every time.
I think that culture for me is a tool for openness to the world and should not be underestimated at all. I am the product of a mixture of two cultures. I am different from my ancestors who were afraid of losing part of their identity by settling in a new country. Rural people are attached to their identity culture and do not want it to be mixed with other traditions or customs.
My father, like many immigrants of his time, was afraid of getting lost in a country whose social rules he had not mastered. He was afraid, attached to his Amazigh origins, and integrated into society while maintaining a certain distance. For me, it's different. I was born in France and grew up in the Republican School.
Although I am very attached to my rural origins, I also feel very anxious about my French culture. I am a tree rooted on two continents. Therefore, confusion is possible, and this is what I would like to convey as a positive image of immigration.
?* What distinguished Wahiba’s professional career
** “Boldness”, I believe, is what distinguishes my career most. 7 years ago, when I was working in secondary education, I dreamed of a job in higher education. I always admired my professors at university. To me, they were models of success and achievement. So, one Tuesday evening in September, I wrote a cover letter and a CV that I sent as a spontaneous request directly to the university president. I remember that I was unable to edit my CV, which almost discouraged me. But I sent it anyway! The next morning I was called to take charge of my first lessons.
I started with two hours a week plus 18 hours in high school; I finished the year with 10 extra hours. All because I dared.
As for the rest of my career, I would like to be able to settle in Morocco and teach there. The ideal situation would be to get a position in higher education, I am looking to make the dream come true and hope I can get the best opportunities. For me, this is the logical continuation of my professional journey linked to my love for my rural identity.
In addition, the collectivist orientation had a major impact on my career. And at some point in my life. I had this deep desire to feel like I was of benefit to my community. Therefore, the volunteer team and I often thought about how to help the group that is in dire need of help, so we programmed free training, courses, volunteer support or even assistance in accessing employment opportunities. However, what I am most proud of is closely linked to my rural origins, because wherever I go I constantly return to the source of my identity. Two years ago, I together with my relatives took the initiative to build a house for my uncle who still lives in precarious conditions in the Rif Mountains. His old house was in danger of collapsing due to the various bad weather conditions and the lack of solid foundation. It was not easy for us to raise 50,000 euros to provide him with a haven of peace.
* Wahiba crowned your academic and professional path with a number of productions represented in published books. Tell us about them.
** During October 2019, I published for the first time a book entitled Frederick Douglass: The Progress of the Former Slave: “Education served as a liberation weapon that led him to recognition and liberation.” This book follows the battle of Douglass, a slave who tries to escape his ill-fated fate through self-education. I had studied the condition of slaves in the United States a lot during my studies, so it was only natural that I would want to publish my research.
Then in December 2020, I published a booklet about Under a Spiritual Perspective, a philosophical reflection and analysis of religion. This book, which was part of my memoirs, was not intended for publication, but I decided to publish it so that it would be useful to myself and others. In it I talk about adversity and its consequences on us, but also about the solutions available to us so that we can overcome what imprisons us.
In November 2021, I published Introduction to Literary Analysis at the beginning of the final course: Literary Analysis and Its Different Methods in the Foreign Literature Class in a Foreign Language. This guide for teachers also points out analysis strategies aimed at facilitating dissertations and textual comments.
* Through your personal and professional path, whose roots represented the countryside and whose branches France received, what advice and guidance can you use as an incentive for women in general and rural women in particular in order to achieve their goals, struggle to realize themselves, and reach the most prominent levels of success?
**I have something I would like to highlight, especially when it comes to women, I will ask them to dare to succeed.
A woman is a jewel that must be pampered and preserved, of course, but every woman possesses within her an invaluable strength capable of moving mountains. In my opinion, she is not equal to men; She is much more than that. It represents life, wholeness, necessity, desire, strength and creativity. A confident woman is a happy woman who nothing can stop. We deserve encouragement and respect, and I believe that when our true worth is appreciated, we can achieve great things. I do not have an independent feminist vision for women because I consider that we represent a complementarity to men, but I sincerely believe that by using what distinguishes us from men we can provide qualitative added value to this world.
I advise women to find and develop that inner strength that keeps them alive in order to keep up with the times. Rural culture can sometimes be patriarchal, but I often get the impression that rural women are their own boundaries and keep moving. Therefore, I encourage those women who lack self-confidence to monitor the world around them so that they do not miss opportunities for success that disrupt their lives.
We live in a time where anything is possible, maybe we just need to assert ourselves more and show that a country woman can prove her existence through her beautiful role, as mother, daughter, sister and wife.
* Interviewed by Nadia Boudra